Victoria Williams

Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is a singer/songwriter, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana but for the length of her career a resident of Southern California. Many of her songs detail the events, characters and sensations of a small-town or rural Southern upbringing ("Main Road," "Crazy Mary," "Polish Those Shoes"), and she also finds inspiration in nature ("Century Plant," "Weeds," "Why Look at the Moon"), everyday objects ("Shoes," "Frying Pan") and the unseen ("Holy Spirit"). Wonder, delight and awe are the primary moods of her music.

In 1986 she worked with then husband Peter Case on his debut album, following this a year later with her own debut, Happy Come Home, produced by Anton Fier. In 1990 she released Swing the Statue. She also often appeared onstage and on record with the band Giant Sand.

In 1993, Williams' life took a dramatic turn when she learned that she was suffering from multiple sclerosis. In 1994, a variety of artists, including Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Soul Asylum, Lucinda Williams and others, joined together to record some...